Please–No One Tell Jerry Brown About This

The Wall Street Journal notes this morning in “California’s Kafka Express” that Gov. Jerry Brown is determined to go ahead with building California’s high-speed rail-to-nowhere despite that fact that it will cost at least $100 billion (he says only $68 billion, but can anyone point to a major rail project that has come in on budget?), when the state faces deficits and unpayable debt as far as the eye can see.

Well, let’s hope that Governor “Moonbeam,” whose 1980 presidential campaign put forward the theme “explore the universe,” doesn’t get wind of this story: “Engineer: Star Trek’s Enterprise Ship Could Be Built in 20 Years at a Cost of $1 Trillion.” That’s only a little less than the Obama Stimulus bill. I can see the California bond measure for this now. The ballot title and summary writes itself: “To boldly go where no bond has gone before.” The opposing argument also writes itself: “Throw away your money at warp speed!”